There are many things that always seem so heavy before a decision is made, but once a decision is made, the weight of those things seems to be lost in an instant, and the wind wheel in the garden will flutter up and disappear into the lead cloud.

Xia Hou felt like this at this time, when he said Gui Lao's words, he suddenly felt a lot more relaxed, his knowledge of the sea and his eyes were much clearer at the same time, and he found that this was the most correct choice.

Struggling repeatedly between the Dao Demon Empire, even if he was as powerful as him, he felt physically and mentally exhausted, and he had been thinking hard about how to break through this deadlock, until this time he realized that if he dragged away the glory and wealth of the world, as the master said back then, he would not fight and do nothing, and return to old age before he was old, this would be an outcome acceptable to everyone.

Whether it is the Xiling Temple or the Imperial Palace of Chang'an City, he will acquiesce in leaving the disputed hall and cultivation rivers and lakes, not to mention that Mr. Da personally came to Tuyang City, which faintly represents the meaning of the academy.

"Mr. Big is really generous. Xiahou looked at the senior brother and said, "When I return to Beijing at the end of autumn, I will resign from all official positions. ”

The senior brother looked at him and shook his head, and said slowly, "It's too late. ”

Xia Hou squinted slightly, looked at his face and was silent for a long time, then said in a deep voice: "Mr. Big, after all, I am an imperial general, and I have countless cronies under my command, I always have to arrange their funeral, and the war between the Central Plains and the Desolate People will start after the spring, I need to stay in Tuyang City to keep an eye on this war." ”

The elder brother stared into his eyes, as if he wanted to hear the reason why he was staring at this battle.

Xiahou's eyes drooped, his fingers gently stroked the teacup, and said, "After all, I was also a desolate man. ”

The senior brother got up and walked outside the garden, suddenly stopped in front of the door, and said, "You are not allowed to go to Xiling." ”

The study room of the General's Mansion is in the depths of the Winter Garden, with all kinds of weapons displayed on the wall shelves, rare pen and ink books, a sense of slaughter echoes in the meantime, the dim sky outside the window penetrates, and it is instantly suppressed and cannot move.

Military advisor Gu Xi stood silently at the desk, his hands clenched in his sleeves sometimes clenched, sometimes released, I don't know how long he struggled, his voice was hoarse and said, "My subordinates are unwilling." ”

Xia Hou looked at the ink-stained letter paper on the desk, and said indifferently: "If you can't get the Book of Heaven, I am a mortal, and mortals must resign themselves to their fate, and the old countryside is already the best life I can see. ”

Gu Xi's eyes were moved, and he immediately turned into sentimentality, and said with a self-deprecating smile: "Back then, I was the watchdog sent by the temple to the general, but who knew that it would be a few years later, and I became a real master and servant, and the general could return to old age, but I had to go back to Xiling to resume my life, and I don't know if I still have the opportunity to meet Mr.

Xiahou looked at him and said: "Don't worry too much, as long as the majesty and those civil and military officials in Chang'an City are willing to peacefully hand over the military power in their hands, they will not do any more care, as for the temple, after all, this is the mention of the academy, I believe they will not have too much dispute with the academy for a retired general." ”

Gu Xi nodded.

Xia Hou looked at the partition on the window and the dim sky that came through, he was silent for a long time, his thick eyebrows gradually frowned, and he said slowly: "Mr. Academy, as I expected, is a generous and benevolent person, but for some reason, that Mr. Thirteen named Ning Que has such a strong killing intent towards me, he wants me to die. ”

With the exit of this sentence, the solemn intention in the study was great.

As a martial arts powerhouse, how terrifying Cheng Dù's keen sense of qi is, Xia Hou can clearly perceive the true intention of the senior brother, no matter how Ning Que hides it, he can also understand the murderous intent in his gaze, not to mention that at the Winter Garden Banquet at that time, Ning Que did not hide his true intention at all.

Gu Xi glanced out the window and said in a low voice: "I reported to the general last time, Lin Ling went back to Chang'an City on his last trip before his death and vaguely found out some things, and the matter related to the death of the imperial historian Zhang Yiyi, there are clues pointing to Mr. Thirteen, Lin Ling wanted to kill him on the grassland, probably related to this judgment." ”

Gu Xi's eyes drooped slightly, and he said slowly: "Fourteen years ago, General Xuanwei's treason case, because His Majesty returned to Beijing ahead of schedule and the Xiling Temple suddenly stopped, and all the problems were not completely solved, I can confirm that some people are still alive, so I am thinking about this Mr. Thirteen...... Could it have something to do with that? ”

Xiahou is very aware of the results of the investigation in Chang'an City by the Great Nian Master Lin Ling under his command, and he is also very clear about the events that can connect the imperial historian Zhang Yiyi and the several mysterious dead characters and himself, except for the treason case of General Xuanwei's Mansion back then, there is only the case of Yanjing Massacre.

He was silent for a moment and then said: "I have killed too many people in this world over the years, and there are even more people who want to kill me to take revenge, whether that Mr. Thirteen really has a vendetta with me is not a very important matter, His Majesty and the temple are happy to see me return to old age safely, especially the academy has already stated that there is anyone else in this world who dares to kill me, and no one will have this kind of variable." ”

Gu Xi remembered the brightness of his back when he welcomed the other party into the park, and after thinking silently for a long time, he whispered: "That Mr. Mu Shilan is weird, at least he should check it." ”

Xiahou glanced at him sarcastically and asked, "What if you find out that he is that person?"

Gu Xi said: "Even if the imperial court doesn't care about this season, there is always a way to solve it." ”

Xiahou said indifferently: "Lin Ling tried to kill him on the grassland, although I didn't know in advance, but this time it will be counted on me, on the shore of the Hulan Sea, I tried to kill him again for the Book of Heaven, this is the second time, do you think that the academy will really leave me a third chance to kill the master's personal disciple?"

Gu Xi was silent for a moment and said, "Maybe there will be countless times, and it is impossible for the imperial court and the academy to count every time on the general, which is a very unreasonable thing. ”

Xia Hou looked at him silently and did not speak.

Ning Que stood by the window and looked at the snow trees in the garden, thinking that in a remote border fortress like Tuyang City, he could actually build such a beautiful garden, I really don't know how much of the military money drawn by the imperial court to the northeast border army was embezzled by Xiahou, and I don't know if the gold and silver offered to him by the Xiling Temple have also been turned into the rockery in the garden.

The expression on his face was calm when he thought about these things, but in fact, his mind was still stuck in the conversation in the Winter Garden, and the shock caused by those secrets could not be eliminated in a short time.

Xiahou, the remnant of the Demon Sect, became a powerful general in the Tang Empire, and even became a guest of the Xiling Temple, willing to be a dog of the temple to slaughter innocents in Chang'an City and Yanjing, all of which he just wanted to hide the identity of his sister, and didn't want anyone to know that the Tang Dynasty Empress Niangniang was also a member of the Demon Sect!

Ning Que supported the slightly cold windowsill with both hands, turned around and looked at the senior brother in the room, thinking that in the Winter Garden before, it was this scholar with an ordinary face and no powerful aura, and with just a simple sentence, he made the most powerful general in the empire, Xiahou, willing to give up the power in his hands and return to old age, and couldn't help but sigh.

The brother-sister relationship between Xiahou and the Empress Dowager shocked him, but the strength of the academy and the senior brother that he could experience in what he saw and heard today was even more shocking, and he couldn't help but ask, "Senior brother, how strong are you?"

The senior brother was holding the book and reading, listening to Ning Que's question, slowly put the scroll away, looked up at him by the window, was silent for a moment and then smiled and said: "Strong is actually just a relative concept, for example, the goshawk is to the ant, it seems that the goshawk is strong, but the goshawk will never fight with the ant, so the ant is not weak." ”

Ning Que spread his hands and said, "Senior brother, what you said is too profound, I don't understand it. ”

The senior brother smiled, put the book back into his waist, slowly paced to the window and stood side by side with him, looked at the frost tree ice pool in the winter garden, and said slowly: "This world of red makeup or plain is actually artificially divided into many different worlds, such as the palace and the market, such as the Huanghuang Temple and the dilapidated Taoist temple, such as the so-called unknowable place and the real life full of fireworks. For example, if the Lord can teach an apprentice like Ye Su, how can he be strong? However, these people will never be able to show up in the human world, at least until now, then they are goshawks overlooking ants, although they are powerful, they will not hurt you. ”

Ning Que asked curiously, "What is the place of Zhishouguan?"

The senior brother replied seriously: "Zhishouguan is a Taoist temple. ”

Ning Que waited earnestly to listen to the follow-up, but there was no follow-up.

He smiled a little helplessly, and suddenly asked, "Is Xiahou a goshawk or an ant?"

"He was supposed to be a goshawk in the sky of the wasteland, but unfortunately he was chained by himself, and since then he has become a sheepdog domesticated by hunters, and then he can never break free." ”

Ning Que was silent for a moment and then said, "To become a strong man in the temple Rongqing, is there a chain tied to his body?"

The senior brother replied seriously: "Xiahou is worried about the queen, relatively speaking, it is naturally more difficult, but what you said is not wrong, junior brother, the temple guests naturally have their own difficulties. ”

Ning Que thought about Mo Shanshan's teacher, frowned and said, "Could it be that Liu Bai and Wang Shusheng are the same?"

Senior Brother said with emotion: "Sword Saint Liu Bai is known as the strongest person in the world, even the head of the temple has to treat him with courtesy, but Haotian Divine Radiance shines in the world, as long as you live in Haotian's world, there are always some rules that need to be followed, you and I are fortunate to be born in the academy, relatively much freer, and much happier." ”

A very simple paragraph, but it made Ning Que's heart move slightly.

The words such as rules and freedom in this passage made him vaguely feel something, especially the last sentence that he was born in the academy relatively free and happy, which made him have a lot of ideas.

(There is another chapter, probably later, at this time I went out to eat a bowl of porridge first, and I have been busy writing things and that private matter recently, and I am a little angry, and my mouth is unhappy, so I am not happy, alas.) (To be continued)